Publication end on external website : 19/04/2023 17:00
Service : 08-Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics
Reference : PE/AST/287/2023/INLO AST 1
Guide for Candidates : Download guide for candidates

Before applying, you must read carefully the Guide for candidates attached to this competition notice. The Guide is an integral part of the competition notice and will help you to understand the rules governing selection procedures and how to go about applying.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

A. DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY

B. PROCEDURE

C. APPLICATIONS

ANNEXES: GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES IN COMPETITIONS ORGANISED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

 

A. DUTIES AND ELIGIBILITY

  1. General remarks

The European Parliament has decided to organise, on the basis of Article 29(1) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, an open competition (AST 1) for the recruitment of officials to the Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO).

The profile sought is that of logistics services coordinator with a target number of successful candidates of 15.

The posts will mainly be based in Brussels, but also in Luxembourg and Strasbourg (the European Parliament’s places of work) in accordance with the needs of Parliament’s services. The duties may involve travel between the European Parliament’s places of work. Coordinators assigned to transport services for persons and goods may also be called upon to undertake missions outside the European Parliament’s places of work.

Recruitment will be at grade AST 1, first step, the basic salary for which is EUR 3 271.87 per month. This salary is subject to Community tax and to the other deductions provided for by the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union. It is exempt from national tax. The step at which the successful candidates are recruited may be adjusted in accordance with their professional experience. Moreover, in certain circumstances allowances will be paid in addition to the basic salary.

The European Parliament is an equal opportunities employer and accepts applications without discrimination on any ground such as gender, ethnicity, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, marital status or family situation.

  1. Job description

The Directorate-General for Infrastructure and Logistics (DG INLO) is responsible for managing infrastructure and logistics in Parliament’s various places of work.

DG INLO’s responsibilities are:

  • the technical and administrative management of Parliament’s buildings in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg and the liaison offices in the Member States;
  • the management of the equipment and services departments involved in running the buildings;
  • the management of equipment (purchasing, transport, removals, message services, catering, shops, etc.) and the practical arrangements for meetings.

The logistics services coordinator will assist a Head of Unit or Administrator and supervise and coordinate a team of staff.

Performed under the authority of the official responsible and in the context of programmes and priorities drawn up by Parliament’s governing bodies and management, the duties of the logistics services coordinator will involve in particular:

  • managing, motivating and coordinating a team of staff with a view to optimising the use of human resources while ensuring quality of service;
  • setting priorities, anticipating the work to be carried out, ensuring an appropriate level of quality of the work carried out;
  • participating in the drafting of instructions and guidelines, relaying them and ensuring compliance with them;
  • contacting and liaising with interlocutors in other directorates/units/services and with external interlocutors;
  • dealing with unforeseen situations (e.g. organisation of the team in case of unannounced absences);
  • representing the unit at inter-service meetings or in working groups;
  • supervising administrative procedures relating to vehicles (documents, roadworthiness tests);
  • managing, where appropriate, drivers of external service providers;
  • ensuring continuity of service by driving, where necessary, European Parliament vehicles for the transport of persons and goods, both within and outside the European Union;
  • coordinating a team of up to 120 drivers, organising routes and shifts, and scheduling runs and drivers’ rotas (drawing up and managing drivers’ schedules);
  • checking drivers’ working hours;
  • coordinating, organising and scheduling removals and rotas of internal and external teams (drawing up and managing the schedules of a team of up to 50 movers);
  • organising the distribution of mail by a team of up to 50 ushers;
  • following up decisions and dossiers and informing clients on the status of dossiers;
  • advising and informing management, Members, their assistants, Parliament’s staff and visitors within the relevant areas of responsibility.

The services likely to recruit logistics coordinators are primarily responsible for:

  • transport of persons, mainly Members and staff of the institution;
  • mobility policy and relations with federal, regional and municipal authorities;
  • various removals (for Members, political groups and staff of the institution) in the three main places of work and the delivery of movable goods;
  • transport of equipment for the plenary session in Strasbourg and for meetings of the political groups outside the three main places of work;
  • the allocation and management of workspaces;
  • distributing mail at the three places of work;
  • providing support to the plenary services (DG PRES) and galleries (DG LINC) during sessions.

The logistics coordinators must be able to deal with a wide range of situations, to respond rapidly and calmly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. They must be capable of working intensively on a regular basis, both independently and as part of a team, in a multicultural environment.

The work will entail frequent travel between Parliament’s three main places of work and contact with many different people inside and outside Parliament.

  1. Eligibility

On the closing date for applications, you must meet the general and specific eligibility criteria:

(a)     General criteria

In accordance with Article 28 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union, you must:

–          be a national of one of the European Union’s Member States,

–          enjoy full rights as a citizen;

–          have fulfilled any obligations imposed on you by the laws on military service;

–          be able to produce the appropriate character references as to your suitability for the performance of the duties concerned.

(b)     Specific criteria

(i)      Qualifications required

You must have:

  • a level of post-secondary education attested by a diploma,

or

  • a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, followed by at least three years’ professional experience relevant to the duties (section A.2.).

Diplomas, whether issued in a Member State or in a non-EU country, must be recognised by an official body of an EU Member State, such as the ministry of education;

Candidates holding diplomas issued in a non-EU country must enclose with their application an EU-equivalence for their diplomas. For further information on recognition of qualifications obtained in a non-EU country in the ENIC-NARIC networks, see https://www.enic-naric.net/. The selection board will take account of the differences between education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are given in the table included in the Guide for Candidates.

(ii)     Professional experience required

No professional experience is required. Nevertheless, any professional experience you have acquired in the area covered by this competition (see list of tasks in the ‘Job description’, section A.2) would constitute an asset.

(iii)    Knowledge of languages

Candidates must have a thorough knowledge (level C1 minimum) of one of the European Union’s official languages (language 1): Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish or Swedish,

and

a satisfactory knowledge (level B2 minimum) of English or French (language 2). Language 2 must be different from language 1.

Please note that the minimum levels required above apply to each area of linguistic ability (speaking, writing, reading, listening) referred to on the application form. These abilities correspond to those specified in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (https://europa.eu/europass/common-european-framework-reference-language-skills)

Logistics coordinators must be able to understand and carry out the above tasks, process dossiers and communicate effectively with people inside and outside Parliament and with management and colleagues within the working environment described above.  Most of the tasks are to be carried out in the two languages that have been chosen for this selection procedure in the interests of the service (English or French) and which reflect the skills required to perform the duties involved. Accordingly, if logistics coordinators are to perform these tasks and help to ensure the smooth functioning of the service, they must be able to communicate effectively in at least one of these two languages.

 

 B. PROCEDURE

The competition is based on qualifications and tests.

  1. Admission to the selection procedure

If you have submitted your application:

- in accordance with the arrangements stipulated in section C, and

- by the deadline stipulated in section C,

the selection board will assess your application in the light of the specific eligibility criteria.

If you meet the specific eligibility criteria, the selection board will admit you to the selection procedure.

It will base its decisions solely on the information given on the application form and substantiated by supporting documents.

  1. Assessment of qualifications

On the basis of a marking grid laid down in advance, the selection board will assess the qualifications of candidates admitted to the selection procedure and draw up a list of the 60 best candidates, who will be invited to the tests. The selection board will invite any candidates tied for the final qualifying place.

In assessing the candidates’ qualifications, the selection board will take particular account of the following aspects (to be substantiated by supporting documents enclosed with the application file):

  • professional experience in a customer service function relevant to the duties to be performed;
  • professional experience in supervising a team;
  • professional experience in drafting documents or instructions relating to the duties to be performed;
  • professional experience working for European or international organisations or in a multicultural/multinational environment;
  • a certificate/diploma in the field of first aid issued by an approved competent authority or professional experience in the field of personal safety (evacuation of buildings, first aid, fire safety, etc.).

Marking: 0 to 20 points.

  1. Tests

Written test

a) Drafting test in language 2, based on a set of documents, to test your ability to perform the duties set out in section A.2 ‘Job description’.

Maximum time allowed: 3 hours

Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20).

This computer-based test will be held remotely.

The 30 candidates who obtain the highest number of points in the written test will be invited to the oral tests, provided they have achieved the pass mark. Where appropriate, the selection board will invite any candidates tied for the final qualifying place.

Oral tests

a) Interview with the selection board in English or French (language 2) to assess your suitability to perform the duties described in section A.2 (Job description), taking account of all the information contained in your application file. The selection board will also test knowledge of language 1 as stated on the application form.

Maximum duration: 45 minutes

Marking: 0 to 40 points (pass mark: 20)

c) Group discussion or role-play exercise in language 2 (English or French) to enable the selection board to assess your adaptability, negotiating skills, creativity and decision-making, as well as your performance in a group or in a given situation, in relation to the duties described in section A.2 ‘Job description’.

The selection board will decide how long the group discussion test should last on the basis of the composition of the groups.

The maximum duration of the role-play exercise will be 20 minutes.

Marking: 0 to 20 points (pass mark: 10)

These tests may be held remotely.

You will receive instructions concerning the written and oral tests in good time. The tests will take place at a specific time on a specific date. If you do not reply to an invitation, cannot be contacted by email or fail to show up for a test, you risk being disqualified. You must follow the instructions to the letter. Any failure to follow the instructions or any action not consistent with the instructions will lead to your immediate disqualification.

  1. List of suitable candidates

The selection board will draw up a list of suitable candidates containing the names of the eligible candidates with the highest overall scores in the tests as laid down in section A.1 ‘General remarks’. These overall scores are the total number of points obtained in the entire procedure (assessment of qualifications and tests (a), (b) and (c)), provided the candidate has achieved the pass mark in each of the tests. The list may include any candidates tied for the final place. The names of the successful candidates will be included on the list in alphabetical order.

The list of suitable candidates will remain valid until 31 December 2026. Its validity may be extended by decision of the appointing authority. If it is extended, the candidates whose names have been included on the list will be informed in good time.

The successful candidates will be informed individually of their results, and the list of suitable candidates will be posted on the official website of the European Parliament.

If you are offered a job, you will be required to produce the originals of all requisite documents, including diplomas and employment certificates, for verification.

Inclusion on a list of suitable candidates does not constitute either a right to, or a guarantee of, recruitment.

 

C. APPLICATIONS

How to apply:

You must apply via the Apply4EP platform: https://apply4ep.gestmax.eu/search/index/lang/en_US

You must read carefully the Guide for candidates in competitions organised by the European Parliament before completing the application form and provide the relevant supporting documents.

Closing date for applications

The deadline for applications is

17.00 Brussels time on 19 April 2023

 An acknowledgement of receipt will automatically be sent to you as soon as your application form has been validated.

Please DO NOT TELEPHONE the European Parliament to ask about this competition.